THE ETERNAL QUEST

"The Eternal Quest" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US power/progressive metal act Mystic Force. The album was released through Rising Sun Records in 1993. The band´s debut full-length studio album "Shipwrecked with the Wicked (1990)" was a bit of a patchy affair with tracks recorded at three different sessions and that trend continues on "The Eternal Quest", which is bookended by two tracks from the debut album.

Other than that we´re presented with new material, which is pretty obvious because the two "older" tracks are in a US power metal style while the rest of the material are more progressive in nature. The band master both styles with great conviction though. In fact Mystic Force are a very well playing act. High pitched vocals delivered with great skill, a powerful and tight rythm section and some very skillfully played guitar work (both rythm and lead). Artists like Queensrÿche, Fates Warning and Crimson Glory are valid references. While the music undeniably features a progressive edge, we´re talking "regular" length tracks, and you shouldn´t expect longer instrumental sections either. Considering that "The Eternal Quest" was released in 1993, it´s actually rather old school/traditional progressive metal sounding and could easily have been released in the mid- to late eighties.

The sound production is decent, but lacks slightly in the power department. It´s a minor issue though and along with the slight stylistic inconsistency of the material, that´s about the only complaints I have with the album. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.